Defeating Matthew: Trouble at South Coast Repertory
2002-Costa Mesa, California
Juni was learning her lines backstage at South Coast Repertory one afternoon. It was the final rehearsal before the 2:30 and 8:30 p.m. shows that were about to go on tomorrow afternoon and night. She wasn’t worried because she had been rehearsing for months, and made some good friends along the way. Among her friends was a fellow performer named Cara Nguyen, who was 5′7″ with chin-length black hair with blonde streaks, brown eyes, a slender figure, nice-looking breasts and full lips. She was 25, and Vietnamese with an American accent-not to mention bubbly and outgoing. Juni, in contrast, was from Germany and always spoke with a notable German accent. She was just there on a visitor’s visa. The young women were good friends, and they spent every free second of the day at that theatre causing playful mischief-playing pranks on the staff and other performers.
Juni also had powers handed down to her through 40 generations of her German ancestors, a couple of them were the power to revert object with her hands without touching them and stopping time with one hand. Cara had no powers.
Among the performers, or so it seemed, was someone named Matthew. Except Matthew wasn’t a performer-he was a demon. He was not only immortal (having lived for 1000 years) but he could take any form he wished, be it human or animal. He also had strong powers of manipulation, having hypnotized mortals to bend to his will by looking into his eyes. He had killed 90% of Juni’s family, up to her great-great-grandmother Sarah Radamacher, who he had slept with prior to killing her. The reason that Matthew had killed Juni’s family was because from the year 1000 up to Sarah in 1939, they were all destined to destroy him. Juni’s parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had attempted to destroy Matthew as well but they escaped before he could kill them. Now it was her turn to try to destroy this evil.
Matthew recognized Juni immediately, and saw her as a threat, a threat that had to be exterminated. However, knowing that Cara was her best friend, he would use her to accomplish his evil goal.
Two hours later-
“Juni, are you hungry?", Cara asked after rehearsal.
“You bet!", she exclaimed, “where do you want to go?”
“McDonald’s.”
“Sure!", Juni exclaimed.
The two went to a McDonald’s across the street and ate their meals inside. The meals were good after a long day of rehearsing. In an impulsive move, she said, “Cara, watch this” and started blowing bubbles in her super-size Coke. The Asian laughed and said, “I can blow more bubbles than you,” and then blew bubbles in HER super-size Coke. Soon the two were having a bubble-blowing contest and laughing. They were having fun.
Twenty minutes later, despite the cold weather, the two made it back to SCR-where Matthew was waiting for them. They went backstage and Matthew approached them. Ignoring Juni, he said, “Cara, I’m so glad you’re here. We need to talk in private.”
“Why can’t it be here?", she asked.
“Well, it’s a private matter and besides, it’s none of Juni’s business.”
Juni was insulted but didn’t make a big deal out of it. She told Cara, “Just go ahead. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Now Cara,” Matthew said, and they exited the backstage.
Cara and Matthew went into another room and he closed the door.
“Cara, look into my eyes.”
“What’s this about?", she asked-suddenly uncomfortable.
“Look deep into my eyes. Look deep within them and I’ll tell you. Relax. Look deep. Relax. Look deep.”
She looked into his eyes and he said, “Deeper. Deeper. Gaze deeper into them, and listen to me.”
As Cara looked deeper, Matthew’s hypnotic eyes were holding her in their gaze. He said, “As you look into my eyes, you are relaxing more and more, more and more, more and more and your mind is opening up.”
She was relaxing more deeply as she continued to stare. Matthew said, “My eyes hold you in their power, and you don’t want to look away. Your mind is open.”
“No, don’t want to look away,” she said in a monotone.
Matthew looked at her eyes. They were glazed over and she was ready to listen to him.
“Cara, listen to me. You are under my control now and you will do everything I say.”
“Yes Matthew.”
“I want you to carry out a task for me. I want you to kill Juni for me. She is my worst enemy and very capable of defeating me. You want to do this for me, as I am your new master.”
“Yes, I want to kill Juni.”
Matthew grinned malevolently. His evil deed was going to be done.
He warned her, “Juni has two powers: one is to stop time with her hand and the other is the power to revert objects and people without touching them. Take this knife and throw it at her. With any luck she won’t be able to freeze or revert it. It should hit her.”
“Yes Matthew,” she said.
“Good. Now do your job.”
He opened the door and she walked out as if everything was normal. However, she had to conceal the knife or someone would suspect her of something. However, when she saw Juni she pulled the knife from her pocket.
“Hi Cara,” she said as she walked towards her.
“Hi Juni,” she said. Juni was right within range.
After Cara said “hi”, she threw the knife at Juni. Juni saw the knife flying towards her and froze it immediately with her hand.
Seeing her friend also frozen, she grabbed the knife while it was still in mid-air. After she pocketed it, Cara unfroze and angrily said, “You’re not dead!”
“Well I could have been!", Juni exclaimed, “you could have killed me!”
“All the better for Matthew!", Cara exclaimed and stormed off.
Juni was puzzled. “Who’s Matthew?", she thought. It couldn’t have been the Matthew that killed over half of her family or the one that three surviving generations of her family tried to destroy. No, it couldn’t have been that Matthew. Was he stalking her? No, that’s silly-she thought. One thing was for sure: Cara was whacked out.
Cara went back to Matthew and he asked, “Did you kill her?”
“No. She froze the knife. It didn’t touch her,” she said.
“Then you must have been frozen too. Drat!", he said-frustrated.
“I have another plan. Tomorrow onstage during the show, you’re going to strangle her-to death. Yes, that plan is perfect.”
“Yes, I will strangle her.”
“Good, my slave.”
The next day, an hour before the performance, Juni and Cara were getting their hair and makeup done, and were changing their clothes. They were doing a play called “Friends”, set in 1939 California. Cara wore a brown wig to cover her streaked hair.
“Break a leg, Cara,” Juni said.
“Oh, I plan to do more than that,” Cara thought. and then said “you too”.
As the dialogue coach worked with Juni one more time to give her an American accent, Matthew walked in the room under the pretense of saying hello to Cara. Amidst the busy crowd, he told her, “Remember what to do today.”
“Yes, Matthew.”
Fifteen minutes before the show, the director clapped his hands and said, “Places everyone, places! Everyone onstage now!”
Juni and Cara were the first onstage, but little did she know what her best friend had in store for her.
At 2:30 p.m. the show started. Juni was “Cathy” and Cara was “Tracy”.
Cathy: Tracy, you’re such a good friend. I don’t know how I could get through life without you.
Tracy: Thanks Cath. You’re a good friend too. In fact, I want to show my deepest love and appreciation by doing this.
Then she struck.
Cara grabbed Juni by the throat and began strangling her.
“Cara, what are you doing?", she asked in a strangled voice.
“It’s what Matthew wants,” she said-with an evil look in her eyes and in a sadistic voice.
Juni tried to break Cara’s grip from her throat but it was strong. The audience was stunned and frightened, and the director and other cast members (except Matthew) were freaking out. This wasn’t part of the show!
“Cara, please stop! I can’t breathe!”
The director came out and tried to help Juni, but Cara punched him.
Matthew came out and said, “Kill her, Cara! Kill her! Finally, Juni will die!”
Despite the fact that she couldn’t breathe, Juni punched her friend in the stomach, causing her to break her grip and double over in pain.
“You know Cara, I thought you were whacked out when you tried to kill me before, but I didn’t know Matthew was controlling you. Now I know, and I’m really sorry I have to do this.”
With that, she threw out her hands and knocked her friend against the wall. The Asian was out cold.
This whole scene riveted the audience, just like an action movie but live. They couldn’t, and didn’t, want to look away. It was too exciting.
Juni took a deep breath, happy to be breathing again, but her happiness was short-lived because Matthew was ready to kill her himself. She ran off the stage and into her dressing room. After locking the door, she immediately rummaged through her drawer for a pen and paper. If Matthew couldn’t be destroyed, then she would at least banish him back to hell. For now, he was unsuccessfully tracking her down.
She found a pen and paper and quickly started writing:
Leave now our sight.
Leave our world.
Permit us not to look upon your face.
I banish thee, I banish thee
back to hell where you belong.
You may never return to earth.
Fortunately Matthew had not found her yet, so she left the dressing room and hurried down the hall, taking the spell with her. It wasn’t long until she heard footsteps, which got louder and louder, and in a few minutes she encountered Matthew.
“Do you really think that you can destroy me?", he asked sadistically and added, “You may have thwarted Cara’s effort to kill you, but your life ends today at my hands!”
“I don’t think so!", she exclaimed, “I’m going to banish you, and you’ll never return to earth!”
“What?", he sadistically asked.
“That’s right, banishment!”
She read the spell:
“Leave now our sight, leave our world.”
“Nooo!!” Matthew screamed and knocked her down with a beam of strong light.
Juni continued chanting, “Permit us not to look upon your face.”
He burst into flames and continued screaming as she continued, “I banish thee, I banish thee, back to hell where you belong. You may never return to earth.”
With the last lines read, Matthew screamed for the last time and the flames diminished into a puff of smoke. He was gone forever.
Juni went back to the Mainstage and asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” the director said, “where were you?”
“I had to go take care of something. How’s Cara?”
“She’s fine, and she’s in her dressing room.”
“Can I see her?”
“Yes.”
“Great,” Juni said and rushed to her friend’s dressing room, When she got there, she opened the door and saw Cara on a cot.
“Hi Cara,” Juni said, trying not to sound uncomfortable.
“Hi Juni,” she said weakly.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m not under Matthew’s control.”
“That’s good, because I just banished him.”
“Banished him?", Cara asked.
“Yes. He’ll never return to Earth. We’re safe.”
“I’m sorry I tried to kill you,” Cara said.
“It wasn’t your fault. Matthew was controlling you. He controlled my ancestor Sarah the same way.”
“Did she kill people?", Cara asked.
“No, thankfully,” Juni said-grinning, “but he hypnotized her into sleeping with him, and then he killed her after she tried to destroy him.”
“How sad,” Cara said.
“I know. But thankfully you came out of it alive”, Juni said-and gently squeezed her hand. Then she said, “Just get some rest okay?”
“Okay,” she said-grinning weakly, “anyway thanks for intervening. Bye the way, I apologized to the director.”
“No problem. See ya later.”
“See ya, J.”
Juni left the room and gently closed the door behind her.
That night at 8:00, the show went on as planned, and the play was a moderate success. At the cast party, Cara and Juni played their harmless pranks and most people got a laugh out of them.
Everything was back to normal.